The Scientific Cardplayer is the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 title of a 1972 Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Luigi Comencini

Luigi Comencini

Luigi Comencini was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the commedia all'italiana genre....

. The screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 was written by Rodolfo Sonego

Rodolfo Sonego

Rodolfo Sonego was an Italian screenwriter.He wrote Commedia all'italiana films such as A Difficult Life, Il vedovo , or Il vigile.-External links:...

.

Synopsis

An aging American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 millionaire

Millionaire

A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...

ss journeys to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 each year with her chauffeur

Chauffeur

A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...

 George to play the card game scopone with destitute Peppino and his wife Antonia. The annual scenario

Scenario

A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...

 remains unchanged: she donates the initial stakes so they can play, then ultimately wins the game, shattering the couple's dream of scoring a victory and improving their lot in life. Eventually their daughter Cleopatra seeks revenge

Revenge

Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...

 on her parents' behalf.

Production notes

The film's Italian title is Lo scopone scientifico.

Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

 was in the midst of a three-week vacation at the health spa La Costa

La Costa

The La Costa Resort and Spa is a luxury destination hotel located in Carlsbad, California, and is known for its golf courses and its location in the San Diego area hills. Every year in late July or early August, the resort hosts a woman's professional tennis tournament, now known as the Southern...

 in Carlsbad, California

Carlsbad, California

-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...

 when she received the script. On twenty-four-hour notice she flew to Rome for filming. It wasn't until the first day of shooting she learned the dialogue was to be recorded in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

. Of her co-star she said, "My name for Albert Sordi was Albert Sordid. It was unforgivable of him to refuse to speak English with me, especially as he spoke very good English."

This was the third on-screen pairing for Davis and Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...

. They previously co-starred in Beyond the Forest

Beyond the Forest

Beyond the Forest is a 1949 American film, representative of the film noir genre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best score.-Plot:...

(1949) and Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a 1964 American thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, and starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, and Agnes Moorehead....

(1964).

Principal cast

• Bette Davis ..... The Millionairess
• Joseph Cotten ..... George
• Alberto Sordi
  Alberto Sordi
  Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
  
   ..... Peppino
• Silvana Mangano
  Silvana Mangano
  Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
  
   ..... Antonia
• Antonella Demaggi ..... Cleopatra
• Mario Carotenuto ..... The Professor

Principal production credits

• Producer
  Film producer
  A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
  
   ..... Dino De Laurentiis
  Dino De Laurentiis
  Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
  
  
• Original Music
  Film score
  A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
  
   ..... Piero Piccioni
  Piero Piccioni
  Piero Piccioni , was an Italian lawyer turned major film score composer. A pianist, organist, conductor, composer, he was also the prolific author of more than 200 film soundtracks.-Early life:...
  
  
• Cinematography
  Cinematography
  Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
  
   ..... Giuseppe Ruzzolini
• Art Direction
  Art director
  The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
  
   ..... Luigi Scaccianoce
• Costume Design
  Costume design
  Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
  
   ..... Bruna Parmesan

Critical reception

TV Guide

TV Guide

TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...

says, "One's enjoyment of this picture is correlated with one's understanding of scopa."

Awards

• 1973 David di Donatello Award
  David di Donatello
  David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
  
   for Best Actor (Alberto Sordi, winner)
• 1973 David di Donatello Award for Best Actress (Silvana Mangano, winner)
• 1973 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Nastro d'Argento
  Nastro d'Argento
  The Nastro d'Argento is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics...
  
  for Best Supporting Actor (Mario Carotenuto, winner)